A fresh issue has been raised before the Council of Legal Education over the Nigerian Law School registration records of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu.
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The concern centres on a declaration allegedly made by Kalu, then bearing the name Benjamin Okezie Osisiogu, during his registration at the Nigerian Law School, Enugu Campus, in 2010.
According to the registration form cited by petitioners, Kalu declared on his honour that he was not and would not be engaged in any employment or serve in the National Youth Service Corps during the period of his course at the Nigerian Law School.
The form, bearing Registration No. EN/10/166, identified him as Osisiogu Benjamin Okezie, a graduate of the University of Calabar, with his residential address during the school session listed as 76 Factory Road, Umuahia, Abia State.
The document also stated that he commenced attendance at the Nigerian Law School on April 19, 2010.
Under the declaration section, the form reads: “I, Mr. Benjamin Okezie Osisiogu, of 76 Factory Road, Umuahia, Abia State, hereby declare on my honour that I am not and will not be engaged in any employment nor serve in the National Youth Service Corps during the period of my course at the Nigerian Law School.”
The declaration was signed and dated April 23, 2010.
However, public reports cited by the petitioners allege that Kalu was mobilised for the National Youth Service Corps from March 9, 2010, to March 8, 2011, a period said to have overlapped with his enrolment at the Nigerian Law School, Enugu Campus, which reportedly ran from April 2010 to about September 2011.
The central complaint before the Council of Legal Education is that Kalu allegedly combined NYSC with his Law School programme in direct conflict with the written undertaking he gave to the institution.
Petitioners are asking the Council to scrutinise the timelines, the declaration made on the registration form and the relevant Law School rules to determine whether any breach occurred.
They argue that the issue goes beyond academic qualification and raises questions of character, integrity and fitness to remain within the privileges of the Bar.
According to them, the Nigerian Law School and the wider legal profession treat the “fit and proper” requirement as a matter rooted in honesty, respect for professional rules and compliance with solemn declarations made to legal institutions.
They contend that an aspirant to the Bar must demonstrate respect for lawful regulations and must not mislead professional bodies, particularly where such declarations form part of the basis for admission, training and certification.
The petitioners maintained that deliberately making a false or misleading declaration, or acting in a manner inconsistent with it, could undermine the trust that supports the grant of a qualifying certificate by the Council of Legal Education.
They further argued that the Council must determine whether Kalu misled the institution or disregarded its ethical requirements.
They urged the Council, where a breach is established, to apply appropriate sanctions in order to protect what they described as the “prestige and sanctity” of the legal profession.
The petitioners said the issue now before the Council is whether a person who allegedly breached such a declaration should continue to be regarded as fit and proper for the privileges of the Bar.
They called on the Nigerian Law School and the Council of Legal Education to treat the matter with seriousness, describing it as an opportunity to uphold discipline, transparency and public confidence in the legal profession.
“It is time to save the Bar and the legal profession, and it is our earnest hope that the Law School will lead this redemption,” the petitioners stated.
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